Many Worlds
by jadelikescats
Summary: Many worlds, many different situations. Things change, and nothing remains the same. However, one thing is constant. They are still Natsume and Mikan. A collection of one-shots.


**Disclaimer: Gakuen Alice does not belong to me. **

* * *

Natsume and Mikan were both eighteen. They had been best friends for many years, but recently, their relationship took a different turn. Natsume had been Mikan's boyfriend for about a month, when he suddenly announced something that would change their lives.

"Mikan?" he said, slightly frightened. His face was stoic, betraying no emotion.

"Yes?" she smiled her dazzling smile, one just for him. Mikan smiled at everyone, but she had a special smile, only for him. Natsume would never admit it, but it made him feel special. Like he was the only one who she saw, the only one in her eyes.

And he hated himself for what he was about to do to her.

"I'm leaving to study in America. I got a scholarship to Harvard University, and it's the chance of a lifetime. Do you think I should go?"

To say that Mikan was shocked would have been an understatement. She was astounded. Her face was a myriad of emotions, ranging from happiness, sadness, anger, and finally, love.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" she said, finally. She was hurt that Natsume didn't trust her enough to tell her that he was going to leave.

He shrugged, sadly.

"I put in my application forms before we started going out. Remember? I thought you loved Ruka, not me. I didn't think I had a chance with you. I was heartbroken, and I couldn't bear seeing you happy with someone else other than me," he whispered into her ear, heartfelt.

She burst into tears, launching herself into a tirade while beating Natsume's chest with her fists. Hard.

"I hate you! I hate you for leaving me, but worst of all I hate you because I can't stop loving you!"

He gently caught her fists in his hands and stopped her with a kiss. Suddenly, all of her anger melted away. He pulled back, and she almost begged him not to stop. She buried her face in his chest, weeping in sorrow.

"I'll keep in touch, I promise. I promise I'll come back for you. I promise I'll never leave you, and when I come back, I'll be someone worthy of you. "

"Promise!"

"I promise, with all my heart."

"That's good. I don't know what I'd ever do without you."

"Die?"

"Natsume! This isn't the time for joking."

She laughed, despite her tears. It was true. She would die without him. They hugged, silently, for the last time. The stars seemed to smile down at them, acknowledging their promise. Though no words were said, they both silently felt each other's love for each other.

As Natsume disappeared into the night on his motorbike, Mikan knew that she was doing the right thing. How could she hold him back from one of the most prestigious universities in the world? It would have been selfish, and cruel. Someone as smart as him deserved only the best, while someone average like her could only go, hopefully, to a good university in Japan, such as the University of Tokyo. She loved him enough to let him go.

She curled up on the floor of her grandfather's apartment, silently crying. She should have been happy for him, but why did her heart feel like it was breaking?

* * *

_A few months later_

At first, Natsume had kept his every promise. He called every night, and sent pictures of his university in America. He sent her long letters, presents, and made her feel extremely happy with the knowledge that she had done the right thing. It was only for a few years, after all.

Mikan, to her surprise and delight, had a place in the University of Tokyo. She immediately called up Hotaru, only to find that she had been accepted as well. Mikan was ecstatic, and although Hotaru would never admit it, so was she.

However, one day, the calls suddenly ended. Mikan lost all contact with Natsume. The emails paused, the letters were no longer delivered, and the occasional presents were no more. Mikan was cheerful at first, confident in the knowledge that Natsume would never, never leave her. But as the months passed, she started becoming more and more scared. Hotaru was blunt, as usual.

"Stop moping. He's obviously moved on, you should to."

After a brief, one-sided argument,(about how Hotaru didn't understand love), Mikan acknowledged the sense of Hotaru's point. He hadn't talked to her in ages, and probably had found an American girlfriend, who was more beautiful than her, more intelligent, and better in every way.

She spent months in misery, wallowing in her heartbreak, and studying in her room. Her grades soared, but her amber eyes which were usually alight with happiness and joy, were dull with depression and anger.

Hotaru was getting worried, and so were her other friends, Ruka, Anna, Nonoko, and Sumire. They had never seen Mikan like this before. She seemed to have lost the will to live, and seemed almost _suicidal_. It was terrifying seeing their friend in such a state. They tried everything to make her happy. They tried convincing her that Natsume was not "the one" (a lie, and they all knew it), took her out on blind dates (which ended disastrously), and started telling horrible jokes.

"Which came first, the egg or the chicken?" asked Sumire.

"That's not even a joke..." Mikan mumbled.

"Girl, you need to get over him. You're doing yourself enough damage as it is. Stop it, and look at what's around you. You've got so many friends who love and care for you and you're pining about one? Hotaru loves you, Ruka loves you, Anna loves you, Nonoko loves you, your jii-chan loves you, and so do I. Stop moping about one and think about us all!"

Mikan was finally shocked into realization.

"You're right, Sumire. I've been stupid. Forgive me?"

Mikan smiled, for the first time in months. It was small, and merely a curve of the lips, but it was enough. Sumire forgave her on the spot.

"Of course, silly. I'm always right."

* * *

_In America_

A boy slept on the stark, white, hospital bed. He was connected to many IVs, which were dripping liquid into his system. He had been injured in a car accident, when a drunk driver had smashed into his motorcycle.

"It's a miracle he's still alive," remarked the doctor.

"Yes, but why hasn't he woken up yet?" said the nurse.

"His body is still repairing itself. It shall take a few weeks or so."

"Apparently, he's from Harvard. What a pity that such a bright boy got knocked down by a drunk driver!" gossiped the nurse.

"That's true," stated the doctor, simply. He looked down at the boy in sadness. "Wake up soon. You've got a bright future ahead of you."

As though he had heard the doctor's words, Natsume started showing signs of awakening. By the next day, he was fully conscious.

The doctor arrived to talk to him.

"According to some identification found on you, your name is Natsume Hyuuga and you are currently eighteen years of age. Is this correct?"

"Yes, doctor."

"Do you feel any strange sensations? Most victims of accidents do."

"Somehow, I can remember almost everything, but there seems to be a gap in my past. I remember everything I have studied, and parts of my former life in Japan, but I feel as though I have forgotten something important."

"Perhaps. You may be suffering from temporary amnesia. Don't worry, your memories have a high chance of returning."

"What if they don't?"

"Then they will never return. Usually, they can be triggered with something from the past."

Natsume thanked the doctor for his help, and returned to the university. He had a lot to catch up on his studies, his friends were glad to see him back, and his life was resuming as normal. But why did he feel so empty? Something from his life was missing, and he would do anything to find out what it was.

* * *

_A few years later_

Natsume had already graduated from his course in Medicine. He was now a fully qualified doctor, which had taken years of strenuous study. Although he was extremely good-looking, his cold attitude chased away many girls. He didn't think that they were the one. Somehow, they always had something missing. Their hair wasn't brown enough, or their eyes weren't large enough or the right shade of amber, or they didn't look like someone he had in mind. This girl was somehow lurking at the back of his mind, a portion of his memory he couldn't seem to access.

He checked the mail and gasped as he read the first letter.

"You have been offered a job at Tokyo Hospital..."

Without reading the rest of the letter, he immediately accepted without a second thought. Perhaps it was time for him to return to Japan, and maybe rediscover his missing memories...

In Japan

In a strange twist of fate, Mikan was a doctor at the same hospital. Another doctor was supposed to arrive from America this morning. Apparently, he was extremely qualified. She walked into the office that was supposed to be his. She might as well be welcoming, since he was new in a foreign country. She had brought a cup of coffee in for him.

She knocked on the door.

A deep voice said, "Come in."

She walked in, and immediately gasped in shock, dropping the scalding coffee on her feet.

"Natsume!"

She couldn't believe it was him. He looked even better than he did before he left Japan, seven years ago. Age had matured his features. Natsume had a similar reaction to the woman standing in front of him. He didn't remember her, but she was perfect. She was the exact right height, had perfect features, and the exact shade of brown hair and amber eyes that he nearly recalled.

Suddenly, she walked up and slapped him.

"How could you leave me for seven years? I was a wreck, just because of you!" Her fury was sudden, and it startled him.

"What are you talking about? I don't know who you are! I've never had a girlfriend!"

Mikan stared at him in utter shock.

"How could you say such a thing? Do you not remember the times we shared? Do you not remember the promise you made me? You told me that you would never leave me..."

It all came rushing back to him at once. The night under the stars, everything he had said, the childhood they once shared...

He fell to the ground.

"I remember... I finally remember!" he said, triumphantly. He was laughing in relief, for the first time in years. The ever-present ache in his head was finally gone!

"Why did you ever forget?" she asked, still suspicious.

"I was in a car accident. A drunk driver knocked me over, one night on my motorbike."

"So you never meant to forget about me?"

"No! How could I ever forget about the best thing that ever happened to me?"

Mikan smiled, and enveloped him in a hug. The seven years apart suddenly vanished, and it was as if they had never been apart. He hugged her back, wholeheartedly. The part of him that was lost was back again. Mikan felt the same way.

"I want to tell you something that I never told you before I left. Mikan, I love you."

Tears of joy ran down her face.

"I love you too."

Natsume kissed her again. Later, he whispered something into her ear.

"We were written in the stars, you and I."

* * *

****Many years later, when they had been married with two beautiful children, with Mikan's kindness and charm and Natsume's eyes, Natsume looked up at the stars once more and thanked them for what they had given him. He once cursed at them for how cruel they had been, but now he thanked them for their kindness to him.

He was glad that Mikan and Natsume were written in the stars. They would always be together, in this lifetime and the next.

**Author's Note: A short, fluffy oneshot. Hope you enjoyed it! Review if you did :) **


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